It's Hard to Say I Love You
by rei-jikitsune21
Summary: He couldn't take it anymore. It felt like he was suffocating under this intangible weight. So, he was left to do the only thing that could bring relief. "I'm so sorry it's had to come to this, Yuugi." Heartshipping  RyouxYuugi
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Woohoo, my first heartshipping fic (or can you even call it that since it's soo short? lol) :D Albeit a depressing one...^^;

Please enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **Sadly, I don't own YGO or it's characters...Maybe if I ask Santa he'll give it to me? ;P

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><p><strong>It's Hard to Say "I Love You"<strong>

_Dear Yuugi,_

_I'm sorry it had to come to this. I really am but I could no longer keep living with these feelings bottled up inside me. I hope you can forgive me eventually._

_But you're probably wondering why I did this to myself in the first place._

_Well, as I mentioned above, I just couldn't bring myself to keep going anymore because I had fallen in love. More specifically you, Yuugi. I loved you so much but I couldn't bring myself to say that _too_ you. I couldn't bear to get rejected or (possibly even worse) lose my friendship with you. I didn't want to ruin a good thing and so I kept my feelings to myself._

_That's not to say I didn't try to tell you, Yuugi. I did. I really did. But, in the end, I really have no one to blame but myself._

_Again, I'm sorry for this. I want you to know I love you and you mean a lot to me. Please don't think that I didn't enjoy the time we _did _spend together because I enjoyed _every second of it.

I_ hope you can forgive me because I really you want you to._

_So Long,_

_P.S. I Love You, Yuugi. Sorry, it took for this to let you know._

Yuugi read the note for what felt like the thousandth time, silently crying as he wiped his tear-stained cheek. He looked at the white-haired boy laying on the bed beside him and sighed. The soft lighting from the beeping instruments that were hooked up to him gave his pale skin an eerie appearance but that didn't bother Yuugi at all...

Folding up the note and finally putting it away, Yuugi put his head in his hands as he whispered softly, "Why didn't you just _tell_ me, Ryou?"

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><p><strong>AN:** A penny for your thoughts, please ^_^ Btw, do you think I should contiune this? I've been thinking about it...because obviously (if you couldn't tell, lol) Ryou's not dead-close to it, yes, but not dead.

Lemme know?


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** So, I'm back! And quicker than I expected too :D *is proud*

Thank you so much for the people who reviewed ^^ *gives out cookies* I'm glad you guys think it was worthy enough to continue :3 So! Here you are! The next installment to IHtS"ILY". *claps* However, this will be a short fic...maybe another 2-3 chapters after this one...I dunno yet but please enjoy nevertheless!

Warning: Ryou is a bit OoC, but that's because the poor chap is _extremely _depressed! ;_; Hug him will ya?

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><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

Ryou stared up at the ceiling, his expression blank as he saw nothing and thought much of nothing. His body and mind felt too drugged…slow and light-headed for him to put much effort in thinking—or doing much of anything, really.

It had been a grand total of five days when he had finally woke up. Five long days since, on that late afternoon, he had had the impulsive thought to take Seconal pills from a medicine cabinet and swallow them one by one. When he had woken up, the first coherent thought he had manage to think was that he had failed in killing himself and Yuugi…

His heart torn when he thought of him; Yuugi probably knew by now. And that scared him senseless. He wasn't sure if he wanted to see the look on Yuugi's face…that is should he see him again. After all, Yuugi was probably repulsed by the note he had initially left for him and was probably in no big hurry to see him ever again.

Ryou couldn't decide which scenario would be worse to endure….Maybe he should try again, if only to avoid finding out.

Suddenly, a nurse walked in, pulling Ryou out of his increasingly depressive and suicidal thoughts. She smiled at him, taking a clipboard that was hanging by his bed and began to write on it as she checked his monitors. Ryou merely glanced at her before returning his attention back to the dull ceiling; he had already spoken to her when he had first awakened and he didn't really feel like putting in the effort to speak.

Unfortunately, the nurse had her own plans.

Putting the clipboard back on its hook, she leaned a bit over him as she asked in sweet, high-pitched voice, "So, Ryou-san, how are you feeling right now?"

Mentally sighing, Ryou made an effort to speak but was only able to make do with a hoarse croak. He tried and this time was able to make his mouth form the words, "A bit…foggy, actually." He looked away before adding as an afterthought, "And I have a headache…."

She smiled again. "Alright, sweetie. Let me get you a glass of water and then I'll go get you a doctor. By the way, my name is Mizuki." She bowed. "I'll be your nurse, okay?"

Ryou nodded half-heartedly and then she left his side. He closed his eyes as he heard water running and then opened them back up again when he heard the slight thud of a styrofoam cup being place by his bedside table.

"Alright, I'll be right back," said Mizuki, as she departed.

Alone again, Ryou sighed as he closed his eyes again. For once…he just _really _wanted to be left alone; he was starting to become just like Bakura.

_Bakura…_

Another woman walked inside, this one wearing a white coat, and pulled up a chair beside Ryou's bed. "Hello," she said, grabbing the clipboard Mizuki had written on earlier and giving him a bright smile, "I'm Suzuki Hotaru; I'm your doctor." She leafed through some of the papers on the board. "Do you remember anything before you got here?" she asked.

"A bit," Ryou replied, finally taking the cup and drinking the water and noting how his arms felt rather unfeeling and weak.

She asked a bit more question; how long had he had suicidal tendencies, if he heard voices….those types of things. To end with her interrogation, she began checking his health and came to the deduction that he was beginning to run a fever and was feeling the after-effects of the Seconal pills. After giving him some pills, and signing him up to see a psychiatric consultant, she left him just as Mizuki began to walk in.

"Hey there, Ryou-chan," she said, as she waved to the departing Suzuki. "You have a visitor outside for you."

Ryou's heart nearly skipped a beat. No. No, no, no….He couldn't deal with this—with _him_ right now. Maybe when he was a little more lucid…but certainly not now. Ryou hoped with all his being that it wasn't who he thought it was.

"Uh…who is it?" he asked, apprehension clearly in his voice.

Mizuki smiled and said, "A boy who looks like you—only older. He said his name was Bakura. Would you like to see him?"

Relief washed over Ryou; he had thought for sure that it had been Yuugi….

"Sure," Ryou said, smiling back at her. "I'll see him."

The nurse nodded and left. A few moments later, Bakura walked in, his school uniform gone and replaced with a black long-sleeve shirt and torn jeans and carrying a black backpack. Unfortunately for Ryou, he had a deathly glare set on his features as he grabbed a chair and dropped into it, his bag careless dumped to the floor. Ryou knew he was in for an earful….What the hell possessed him to let Bakura in here?

"About time you finally woke up," the thief grounded out.

"Hello again to you too, 'Kura," Ryou said with a bit of sarcasm to his voice as he looked away. He waited but all he got was the uncomfortable feeling of Bakura's death glare burrowing a hole in his face. He sighed. "At least say something," he mumbled lamely. "I know you didn't come here just to stare; at any rate I know you want to hit me for what I did…"

"You're already in the hospital," Bakura finally said. "I'll wait until you're better so that I can put you _back_ in here, nitwit."

Again, Ryou sighed. He hadn't really expected the thief to be all that happy about his decision, despite Bakura always complaining about the things he did. Still…it felt nice that, in his own way, Bakura did care enough to come and see him and express his concern, if you could call it that anyway.

The white-haired boy was pulled out of his thoughts when he felt something light land on his cover. Turning his gaze to look at the object, Ryou was surprised to see an origami frog looking up at him…and covered with his handwriting….

"Is that….?"

"I took it to school with me," replied Bakura. "I didn't want it taken away so I made it into a frog…."

Ryou stared at the paper frog, his suicide note to Bakura, and wondered halfhearted if he should laugh or be angry that Bakura did that. He quickly decided though that he really just couldn't bring himself to care.

The thief leaned back in his chair as he fixed Ryou with narrowed eyes. "But enough about that; I want to know why you really tried to off yourself…because I don't buy that bullshit you wrote to me in your death letter."

Flinching inwardly, Ryou felt his throat suddenly become dry. He really didn't want to talk about this right now, but Bakura was persistent. He knew he couldn't brush his darker half off.

Exhaling softly through his nose, Ryou closed his eyes as he muttered, "What's there to say? What I wrote was the truth."

Bakura crossed his arms as he said sardonically, "Oh, really? Mind telling me what I got that it makes you _that _jealous of me?"

The younger teen's shoulders slumped and he hung his head down low. "…I guess you can say…I wanted what you have," he whispered finally. When he received no answer he continued, saying softly, "I just wished that I was more, if not a little, like you, 'Kura. I wanted to be able to be self-confident enough to be around people and be by the one's I cared about…I also really longed to have what you and Marik have."

"W-what?" stammered Bakura, his cheeks coloring slightly. "You're disillusioned; there's nothing going on between me and that kid."

Ryou smiled. "You say that, but I've seen the way Marik looks at you….and the way you act around him. He's always coming to see you and you're always with him." His smile began to falter as he felt the beginning of tears prick his eyes. "At least one of you had the courage to start the relationship….You may not believe me but that's what I meant when I wrote that I was a bit jealous of you, 'Kura."

Said thief was silent for awhile and Ryou was actually grateful. He felt that if he kept on talking, he would surely cry.

"…So, who is it?"

Ryou looked up. "Huh?"

Bakura was looking away but returned his gaze back at him, his russet eyes no longer holding as much anger as they were before. "Who is it that made you feel like you had to resort to this?"

Ryou looked away. "It doesn't matter; I don't think I'll ever see him again."

Snorting, Bakura stood up. "You know, you're never going to get what you supposedly think I have with that attitude," he said none too kindly. "I suggest you take this time in here to think about how you're going to resolve this with this person so that I won't have to hear about another episode of this." He grabbed his backpack off the floor and unzipped it, taking a plastic container and spork out of it and setting it on the bedside table.

Looking at it, Ryou saw that it was a fruit salad. Obviously, Bakura felt that the hospital food wasn't going to be good enough for him. He smiled at his dark as the backpack was zipped up again and tossed over the thief's shoulder.

"When you figure out what you're going to do, don't waste anytime and hurry up and get it over with," growled Bakura as he turned away, heading for the door.

"Thank you, Bakura," Ryou said to the departing form.

"Hn. Whatever," he said. "Don't get use to this."

For the first time that day Ryou actually chuckled as his dark left his room.

(( _ _ ))..zzzZZ (´･_･`) (( _ _ ))..zzzZZ

It was late in the afternoon when Ryou buzzed for Misaki. He was eating the fruit salad that Bakura had made for him while thinking long and hard about what his dark had said to him, his words hadn't left him alone since the thief left.

He turned his head when he heard his door open, Misaki walking in with a delighted smile on her lips. "Hey there, Ryou-chan," she said cheerfully. "Did you need anything?"

"Uh…yeah," Ryou said, putting down his fruit. He blushed, slightly embarrassed to ask his question now…but he had already called her in; he might as well. "Is it alright if I can prevent people from seeing me?"

Mizaki blinked but her smile soon returned. "Of course, who would like to not see anymore?"

Ryou bit his lip, averting his gaze for brief moment before saying in a low voice, "Mutou Yuugi."

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><p><strong>AN:** Well, this was certainly longer than the first chappie. Hope that made some of ya'll happy out there :D

Now, what will happen be in store for our heartshipping couple now that Ryou blocked off Yuugi's visitation rights? Ahaha, guess you'll see next time as the next chapter will be from poor Yuugi's POV :)

Please review and tell me what you think of this chapter, yes?


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **OMR! Jeebuz, just how long has it been?...Don't answer that ^^U SOOOO sorry for the extremely long wait guys -_-U Ever since school started again I've been busy (yeah, ik, not much of an excuse but at least I'm still writing, right? o^^o)Thanks so much for reading this story and for sticking with it despite the long wait. Also, I welcome the new readers who so kindly review this XD Enjoy!

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><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

Yuugi signed deeply as he watched the leaves rustling from outside the windows, blatantly ignoring their Japanese Literature teacher. He had spent the better part of the school day trying not to look at the empty desk where Ryou used to sit or letting his thoughts stray to the teen himself, but to no avail. His focus repeatedly came back to the source of his unhealthy anxiety; so much so that his friends were becoming worried about him, especially Yami.

_Speaking of him,_ Yuugi thought, glancing at said ex-spirit, _I wonder if he'll come with me to visit Ryou. _He glanced at the clock. Yes! Only three minutes to go; this day just couldn't finish fast enough!

Feeling somewhat uplifted, Yuugi listened to the remainder of what the teacher had to say until the last bell finally rang and the petite teen got up with the rest of his classmates, ready to get out of there. He grabbed his things and made a beeline to where Yami and the rest of his friends were waiting. "Yami," he said immediately, "I'm going to go see Ryou today; do you want to come with me?"

The ex-pharaoh nodded and Yuugi looked questioningly at Jounouchi and the others.

"S'rry, man," Jounouchi said sheepishly. "Me and Honda have to stay afta today. Detention again, y'know?"

"And I'm on clean up duty today," chirped in Anzu. "But I'll be sure to go with you tomorrow since I'm off work, okay?"

"It's okay you guys," said Yuugi. He didn't expect them to have every day off to see Ryou; Yuugi himself wasn't able to see the teen the day before so he understood completely. "I'll just see you guys Saturday. Take care."

"You too," Anzu said as her and Jou and Honda wave goodbye and departed, while Yuugi and Yami left set out towards the hospital.

( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ(o^^o) ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ

Yuugi's stomach growled noisily as him and Yami walked inside the hospital doors. The teen blushed slightly as Yami chuckled.

"Would you like me to get something for us to eat, Aibou?" he said, grinning.

Yuugi immediately perked up. "Yeah! If you don't mind that is, Yami?"

"It's fine," Yami nodded, heading in the direction where the kitchen and vending machines were, calling over his shoulder, "I'll meet you up at Ryou's."

"Alright," Yuugi yelled out. He walked up to the receptionist desk and announced to the woman there in a polite tone, "Hi, I'm here to see Bakura Ryou."

She smiled warmly at him. "And your name, young man?"

"Mutou Yuugi."

He waited patiently as the receptionist began to flip through a clipboard on her desk, looking around the lobby until the lady made a small noise. Brining his attention back towards her, Yuugi noted a slight frown on her face as she looked back at him. "I'm sorry," she said, "but Bakura-san isn't accepting any visitors by that name."

_What?_ "B-but," Yuugi stammered, trying and failing to keep his composure, "I was here to see him for most of this week! What could have possibly changed since two days ago?" He glanced at the board in the receptionist's hands. "Are you sure there wasn't a mistake or anything?"

She tapped on the board a bit before answering, "Please wait a minute while I go and check to see if there was a mistake."

She left him and Yuugi nervously began to grip the edge of the counter, trying not to think negatively but failing. _How could my visiting rights have been revoke? I haven't done anything wrong! _A sickening feeling washed over Yuugi in waves, his insides coiling into nervous knots as he waited. He didn't want to think why he couldn't see Ryou but a variety of reasons and explanations came to him and went: Ryou's grandfather heard about the ordeal and felt that it was in his grandson's best interest that he didn't see him anymore (which was something he could understand and could eventually handle), A doctor could have dwindle the amount of visitors to just family, or maybe Bakura saw fit to have his visitation rights to be retract (which was the least believable reason since Bakura could care less if he was there or not). He refused to think that Ryou himself would've wanted this…if he had even recovered from his self-inflections.

"I'm sorry, Mutou-san," came the receptionist's voice, pulling Yuugi out of his thoughts.

"…What?"

"There hasn't been any mistake. You're rights have been cancelled."

"…Oh…." Yuugi muttered, dismally. "Alright….Uh, is there any way I can know who decided to cancel it?

The woman gave him a stern look. "No, Mutou-san, we can't do that."

"Ah, right," he said quickly. He looked around hesitantly, as if he didn't really know what to do now. He looked back at the receptionist and politely bowed. "Thank you, then," he said softly, his eyes starting to burn with the beginnings of tears. "Sorry for the trouble."

She nodded and Yuugi turn on his heels just as he spotted Yami coming back from the hospital's kitchen, carrying a bag of oranges in one of his hands. "Yami…."

He stopped, shoving his hands deep into his pants pockets, averting his gaze as Yami came up to him.

"Aibou," he started. "Why are you not with Ryou already? What is wrong?"

Yuugi couldn't look him straight in the face. With his gaze still looking everywhere but at his friend, Yuugi said in an overly cheerful voice, "Oh, I decided that it would be for the best to let Ryou get his rest, y'know?" He scratched the back of his head as he finally looked at Yami. "If he gets better while we're gone, I'm sure his grandfather will let us know."

It was a lame excuse, even to his own ears, especially since Yami knew how anxious he was to get to the hospital. Even so, Yuugi didn't want to go into detail and explain what had transpired a few moments to go that had caused him to decide to leave.

Yami look quizzically at him. "But, Aibou, we just got here…."

"Yeah, I know," Yuugi said hastily as he walked past him. "I'm sorry for dragging you all the way over here only to change my mind at the last second but I'm going to head back home."

He half expected for Yami to stay at the hospital or inquire for more answers but, after a few seconds, he sensed his dark following him.

(/ _ ; )。・゜・(ノД`)・゜・。(/ _ ; )

Yuugi hiccupped slightly as he threw yet another sodden tissue into the trash bin, his eyes red and swollen from his recent crying session. The distressed teen had been crying on and off since he had gotten home two hours ago, occasionally blowing his nose and pretending to be asleep when he heard Jii-chan or Yami approaching his room to check in on him.

As much as he understood their worry, Yuugi was in no mood to answer bothersome questions about why he was shutting himself off. He wasn't in the mood to pretend he was all right when on the inside he was tearing up. So, he stayed in his room, crying excessively and avoiding his family and their concerning questions. Not to mention wallowing in his slowly increasing misery.

Yuugi raised his head off his pillow as he sighed to himself. This was probably one of the dumbest things he has done! He should be talking with Yami or Jii-chan about his problem, not isolating himself from them. He didn't want to go the remainder of the day ignoring them or keeping what happen at the hospital to himself. He wanted to find out why Ryou, if he had even regained conscious, refused to see him!

After giving the note to him, Yuugi felt he _deserved_ to speak Ryou. He wanted to talk about the note with Ryou and make sure that the white-haired teen would _never _feel the need to pull another suicide attempt because….

Yuugi felt his face begin to burn, and he quickly buried his face into his pillow. _If only I had just told him I liked him…none of this would've happened_, Yuugi thought despondently. Now he would probably never get the chance; Ryou could transfer to a different school or, even worse, move back to England. Then what would Yuugi do?

Yami's presence flittered across his troubled mind, his consciousness barely registering his dark in their shared mind link. But he heard the soft knock on his door and the faint footsteps that entered his room when he neglected to answer.

Yuugi turned his head slightly as Yami sit beside him. "Hey," he said lamely, his voice already rusty from lack of use.

"Hey." Yami smiled at him as he put a hand through his light's hair. "Do you want to talk about what's going on, Aibou?"

Yuugi sighed as he sat up. Staring intently at an increasingly interesting pattern on his sheets, the tri-haired teen muttered, "I've been banned from visiting Ryou."

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><p><strong>AN: **So…whatcha think? There's only two chappies left so I'm curious to read your guys predictions on how this will end (that is…if you want to take a stab at it XD). Hopefully I won't be gone for nearly as long as last time….But keep your fingers crossed just in case!

Until next time!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The morning sun's rays filtered through Ryou's hospital windows, cascading down on the albino and luring him from deep sleep's hold. He frown slightly; Ryou wasn't in the mood to wake up just yet. Slowly though, his sleep was beginning to ebb away and he recognize a sweet smell..._Is that,_ Ryou thought drowsily, _oranges?_

"What the bloody hell?" Ryou mumbled as he stirred himself awake.

"What language," said a low voice. "Wouldn't have thought you would curse; perhaps the thief is rubbing off on you."

Ryou nearly bolted up straight as he face his intruder. His eyes grew wide when he saw Yami sitting in a chair next to his bedside table and peeling away at an orange. "What—? How the did you get—? !"

"The nurse was nice enough to let me in so early," Yami said causally however his voice became solemn as he said, "But that's not what I came here to talk about, Ryou."

Ryou inwardly gulped. He has been around the former Pharaoh enough to notice the edge in the baritone voice and what it entails.

"This has to do with Yuugi does it?"

Yami nodded, discarding the remains of his orange and wiping his hands on a napkin.

"I don't know what it was that you had written to Yuugi but, regardless—"

"It doesn't mat—"

"It does matter when it concerns Aibou," Yami interrupted hotly. "Maybe you do not fully understand just what your actions have done to others but a lot of us were worried about you….And sad that you felt that you had to resort to such an action."

Ryou remained silent so Yami continued, less sternly. "All of us have been here by your bedside since we heard that you were in the hospital. And Yuugi has been here every day...except yesterday."

Again Yami paused but Ryou didn't utter a word. Signing, he said gently, "Look, whatever it is that is going on between you two, both of you need to be willing to work it out. I know he's willing to despite what has happened. So….don't push him away. We can only help if you let us…"

Yami stood up and headed for the door. Ryou was unresponsive and Yami couldn't tell if anything he was saying was getting through to the albino. As Yami was turning the knob he faintly heard Ryou's voice. So soft it was…the former pharaoh thought he had imagining it. He stopped and turned towards Ryou, his hand still placed on the doorknob. "What?" he asked.

Again, his voice still barely above a whisper, Ryou said, "I'm sorry."

"…We were worried about you, you know," Yami replied. "We didn't think...Well, I'm just glad that you are alive and well."

Ryou nodded but still avoided eye contact. Yami frowned at this before once again returning to leave. The white-haired teen probably needed some time to contemplate on what to do.

As the door shut softly, Ryou let out a shuddering breath. Liquid crystals slipped gently from his eyelids and dropped on his hands.

(/ _ ; )。・゜・(ノД`)・゜・。(/ _ ; )

"Damnit," Bakura muttered. He slammed the refrigerator door shut and scanned the kitchen for something to eat.

Cursing in his ancient language, Bakura finally spotted a lone banana sitting on the counter. Seeing as there was nothing else to eat that didn't require him to use an electrical appliance, the thief had to settle on the yellow fruit. He grabbed the banana and headed towards the living room where he plopped on the couch and immediately began devouring the fruit.

A moment later, Ryou burst into the house. He slammed the door shut, not even bothering to acknowledge his dark as he headed for the stairs.

"Ryo―"

"Bugger off," Ryou interrupted, taking the stairs two at a time.

"―u," Bakura continued as if Ryou hadn't said anything. "go to the store and get some groceries. Food is scarce here."

Ryou came back down saying as he went, "I don't care. Make do with what we got." With that said he turned around and started back up the steps again.

"That's those anti-depressants talking," Bakura said indifferently.

Ryou turned slowly and glared at him. "You go get food then if you want it that bloody damn bad―," he stopped mid-sentence. Going back down the stairs, Ryou said quickly, "No. Pretend I didn't say that."

Bakura smirked as he watched his hikari walk out the door, slamming it as he went. Turning back to his magazine he said to himself arrogantly, "Even now I still get what I want."

( ｀∧´) (-_－＃) ( ｀∧´)

Ryou was in such a bad mood once he left the grocery store. In his angry-clouded mind and haste, Ryou had completely forgotten to bring his wallet with him. Luckily, he had been carrying enough cash on him to at least buy a quart of milk and some microwaveable food (at least his dark was able to use that without breaking the microwave and/or somehow destroying the house).

Ryou sighed as his irritation dissipated suddenly, leaving him drained emotionally and physically. He slowed to a stop and looked up at the sky. The light blues of the day were slowly morphing into an assortment of oranges, reds, purples, and indigos above him. Ryou tried to focus on the colors, half hoping for a serene feeling to take over if not some feeling to take over but none came. Once again Ryou signed and leaned against the building near him. He paid no attention to the people that were passing him by on the streets and into the door beside him.

Since his release from the hospital Sunday (and since he's been put on antidepressants from his doctor) he seemed to be always irritated at every little thing and then become aloof to everyone; even towards Bakura. And because of his shift in attitude Ryou had avoided school for four days now….That and because Ryou still didn't have the foggiest ideas on how to explain to Yuugi…or even how to apologize to him.

_It's not like I could just stroll into school, walk up to Yuugi as soon as I see him, and say,_ _"Yuugi I tried to commit suicide because I felt that the only relationship I could have with you is one of friendship when I want more than that",_ Ryou thought dismally._ And it's not like I didn't explain myself in the note…Just what the hell do I say to him?_

Ryou was so wrapped up in his thoughts that it took him a full 15 seconds to notice a certain someone, who had recently walked out of the door Ryou was beside, until he felt the teen's eyes on him.

The white-haired teen looked up and locked eyes with shining gems of amethyst. Immediately, Ryou felt a series of chain reactions begin to take place in his body: his throat became drier than the Sahara desert; his heart began to loudly beat at a thousand beats per second, getting louder and louder the longer Ryou stared; the inside of his stomach was like the twists and turns of a roller coaster; and Ryou felt little beads of sweat begin to prickle out all over skin as his face and ears became hot.

Out of all the places...

The two of them stared at each other for moments that felt like hours until Yuugi spoke up first. "H-hi, Ryou," he said timidly.

Ryou swallowed painfully as Yuugi gave a nervous smile. "Hello."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **So...it's been _forever _since I last updated...well any story really U.U *hides* Still in classes but I think it's possible that I'll be able to update more often /pokerface :P

On a different note...I realize that most of my chapters here end as a cliffhanger xDDD lol well this story is coming to an end so check back here :D


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **OH MY FRIGGIN RA! HECK YEAH! I FINALLY, I MEAN FIN-AL-LY~ FINISHED A FIC HERE! 8DDDDDDDDDDD HELL HAS JUST FROZEN OVER!

*ahem*

Anywho, now that I got that out the way. W00T! This is the last chapter and it's been a long time coming ^_^ Sure for 5 chapters it only took me..what? A year and one day? HOLY *#&%^! It's actually been that long? _ Oh Ra...

Well, anyway, please enjoy ^o^ /

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><p><strong>Chapter 5<strong>

_Wham!_

Bakura bolted straight up at the sound of Ryou slamming the front door and ruining the thief's nap on the couch. Quickly, Bakura's head snapped to the sight of his light proceeding to the kitchen and randomly tossing (Bakura noticed bitterly that it wasn't very much) groceries into the fridge.

"Nitwit forgot his damn wallet," the thief grumbled under his breath.

As much as Bakura wanted to raise Hell on his light for daring to wake him up in such manner and for not even bringing a suitable amount of food back…sleep's convincing whispers was luring him back.

_I'll get him for it later,_ Bakura thought drowsily even as he faintly heard the slamming of the refrigerator door and Ryou's loud footfalls as he crossed from the kitchen to his room upstairs. The last coherent thought the thief had was wishing he could set the house on fire before sleep swept his mind away.

( ｀∧´) (*｀へ´*) ( ｀∧´)

Ryou stood with his back to the door, feeling numb, giddy, and…just really at a lost as to what to do with himself. Slowly, Ryou slid down the door, pulling his knees to his chest and resting his head in his them.

_I could have handled it better than how I did…,_ Ryou thought, blushing faintly as he mulled over the conversation he had with Yuugi.

~o~o~o~

"_H-hi…." Ryou said, the lump in his throat seemed to get bigger as he fidget in place. He wanted to see Yuugi but he didn't imagine it'd be this quick!_

"…_."_

_An awkward silence closed in on them; neither teen knew what to say. Ryou, himself, was trying to look anywhere but at Yuugi. His face was becoming redden as he frantically tried to think of what to say or, better yet, where to start._

"_Um, Yuugi—"_

"_Uh, Ryou—" The boys said at the same time._

_They both stopped and laughed; the mood between them lifted slightly._

"_Haha, you can go first, Ryou," Yuugi said sweetly._

"_Oh…um, sure," he said, his awkward feeling rushing back again. He took a couple of quick, small breaths to calm himself. _Just say it to him already! _Ryou told himself sternly. Finally opening his mouth, Ryou said, "Y-Yuugi, I just wanted t-to tell you how much I'm so—"_

"_YUGGG!"_

Oh, for crying out loud! _Ryou practically shouted in his head. He resisted the urge to throw a fit of the century as he saw Jounouchi several blocks away. The last thing he wanted was for Jou to interrupt things between Yuugi and him that _clearly _needed to be said._

_Ryou casted a quick glance at Yuugi as his mood soured. His crush was smiling brightly while waving at his friend and, for some reason, that made him angrier. It was just like before….Before he decided to take his life, before he recognized that he had a huge crush on the petit teen…and just like before during all those times he spent with Yuugi and his friends he realized he didn't have a chance to fit inside their tight circle. Wanting to be more to Yuugi was asking for too much…_

_The pale teen took a few steps back, away from Yuugi and away from Jounouchi. He knew time was against him; even though he felt very conflicted now, if he didn't do anything now he may never get the chance to say what he wanted to say to Yuugi._

He…He deserves a proper apology at least,_ Ryou thought._

_His mind made up, Ryou reached out and grabbed Yuugi's hand. He turned around and pulled Yuugi with him, barely hearing Yuugi's yelp of surprised or Jounouchi's uncertain shout at them._

_There was a small children's playground nearby and that was where Ryou took them. Despite the sudden burst of boldness he displayed just moments earlier, apprehension came creeping back. He ignored Yuugi's protests and questions until they bypassed the playground's gate where Yuugi snatched his hand away._

"_What's gotten into you, Ryou?" asked Yuugi angrily._

_The white-haired teen turned and quickly bowed apologetically to Yuugi. "I'm sorry," he said, biting his lip and gripping his striped shirt in his hands. "I didn't want us to be interrupted. I need to say this to you; if not now then I might not get the chance again…." Ryou looked up to see the expression on Yuugi's face: he looked a little shocked to say the least and…was that a hint of a blush on his cheeks? _

_Quickly bringing his mind back to the situation at hand, Ryou cleared his throat as he straighten himself. He looked Yuugi and finally, after holding it in for what felt like years, confessed to his crush. "Yuugi, I'm sorry I didn't say this sooner but…I love you. That note I left to you…and what I did…I shouldn't have put such a burden on you. I can't tell you enough times how sorry I am and I know that doesn't excuse what I did…" _

"_Ryou…" said Yuugi softly._

_There was a sudden pang in his chest as Ryou's gaze began to waver. He looked away as tears suddenly slid down his cheeks. He didn't have the courage to look at Yuugi as he said next, "I hope you can forgive me regardless…"_

_He felt a light hand on his shoulder and Ryou looked up in surprise and uncertainty at the pair of amethyst eyes that looked warmly back at him._

"_It's alright, Ryou," Yuugi said, smiling. "I forgive you and…" His face began to color to a darker shade of red as he said, "I-I love you too."_

_Ryou thought the whole world had frozen in time; Ryou's senses seemed to have stopped working. His mind seemed to be wiped cleaned. The only thing that was there were the words he heard mere seconds ago. _

_Yuugi's words seemed to be playing on a broken record, repeating the same words over and over and over again: 'I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you….'_

"_Ryou?"_

_The world seemed to resume its orbit as well as the functioning of his senses. Ryou's eyes focused onto Yuugi once again, who was looking extremely worried and embarrassed since Ryou had yet to say anything._

_The white-haired teen had to take a few seconds to remember how to speak. "W-what?" he asked, dumbfounded._

_Yuugi's face, if possible, went even redder. "I love you too," he repeated. "Or…I at least have a very strong like for you."_

_Again, Ryou stared, causing Yuugi to explain himself._

"_Well…well, you know since we haven't been on dates or anything like that…it's kinda hard to…say if these feelings are…genuine or not." Yuugi's voice had gotten lower and softer the more he spoke to the point that Ryou had to strain to hear him._

_Suddenly Ryou's brain finally kick-started back to functioning properly and Ryou quickly began reassuring Yuugi. "Yeah, yeah, I know what you mean, haha! It's fine, really…I just didn't know what to say," he said, happily. _

_He was nearly on the verge of tears. All this time…all this bloody time…If he had succeeded in his mission of committing suicide…he would've never known that Yuugi had those feelings for him too._

"_How come you didn't tell me?" Ryou asked, softly._

"_I guess for the same reasons why you didn't tell me…"_

_Ryou couldn't help it now. He laughed out loud and, after a few minutes, Yuugi joined too. The white-haired teen felt like he was drunk on sheer happiness. "So then, you'll go out with me?" _

"_Of course I will!" said Yuugi, as if the question was silly. Then Yuugi began to nervously rub his hands together, looking away from Ryou as he said, "I actually wanted to do something for you since you got out of the hospital…"_

"_Oh?" Ryou asked, surprised. "What is it, Yuugi?"_

_Yuugi looked at him. "Well, me and the gang was going to throw a get-together for you but since we're together now…how about it'd be just the two of us?"_

"_Yeah!" Ryou said happily. He couldn't believe his luck right now. It hasn't even been five minutes and they were already planning on a date— "wait…is that a date? Are you asking me out on a date?"_

"_Of course," Yuugi said, laughing and Ryou felt his face heat up slightly._

That was a dumb question…

"_Right then," Ryou said as he coughed slightly to cover up his embarrassment, "when do you want to do this?"_

"_How about tomorrow after school?"_

"…_I think I can do that," Ryou thought after a moments paused. His weekly visit with the therapist was tomorrow but he didn't think his session would run that late._

"_That's great then!" Yuugi said cheerfully. "Then I'll see you at my place after school!"_

_Ryou smiled warmly at Yuugi's enthusiasm. Nodding, both of them walked back to the store before parting ways. With a spring in his step, Ryou blissfully walked the rest of the way back home, repeating Yuugi's words in his mind as he went._

_~o~o~o~_

A half smile crossed Ryou's lips as he thought about his date with Yuugi. Idly, he wondered if he should show up to school tomorrow.

_CRASH!_

Ryou practically jumped out of his skin as he heard something fall downstairs.

"Damnit, Bakura!" he roared at the floor below him.

Getting up, Ryou's thoughts on his and Yuugi's rendezvous tomorrow was put on the back burning as he went to reprimand his dark.

m(_ _)m (￣^￣)ゞ m(_ _)m

The afternoon air felt cool as Ryou hesitantly stood in front of Yuugi's back door. It was getting cooler each day but luckily it wasn't cool enough to require a jacket. Plus, the sun's warm rays peeked through the myriad of clouds every now and again, warming his body when the wind had chilled it.

He had been standing in front of Yuugi's door in the back alley for several minutes now, trying his best to gather the courage to knock on Yuugi's door. Although he fully planned on it, in the end, Ryou didn't go to school. Instead he chose to play catch up with all the homework he missed…when he wasn't fretting over what to wear and what to bring. He was so nervous it had driven his dark up the wall; no doubt Bakura was glad his light was finally out of the house.

He eventually decided on a simple plaid vest over a white t-shirt with a pair of jeans and brought a bottle of apple cider he found as well as a chess game set. But now he felt stupid for bringing the items with him. He should've asked Yuugi the specifics of their little get-together. Was it causal or formal? Should he have brought anything at all? What will Yuugi think of this?

Ryou sighed deeply while rubbing his forehead. At this rate he was going to give himself a headache. Breathing in and out for a few seconds to steel himself, Ryou squared his shoulders and knocked firmly on Yuugi's door.

As he waited a sudden thought struck him_. SHIT! I should have gotten him flowers!_ Ryou thought with horror and dismay. _Oh my Ra, how the bloody hell did I forget about that?_ There was no time for that now. He could hear Yuugi coming towards the door and Ryou had no choice but to put the thought from his mind since it was beyond too late to do anything about it.

With a wide grin on his face, Once Yuugi opened the door and motioned the pale teen inside saying, "Ryou, you're here! I was kinda getting worried."

Ryou flinched, a bit guilty. "Ah, right, sorry about that," he said sheepishly. He held up the bottle and game set he brought. "I was running a tad late. Um, are these okay though?"

"Oh, these are great!" Yuugi said, taking the pro-offered items. "I wasn't expecting you to bring anything. Guess I should've told you it was my treat, huh?"

He said this jokingly and Ryou couldn't help but laugh. "It's fine. Besides, I'd feel bad if I didn't bring something."

"Thanks for this then."

"No problem."

While Yuugi went to set his things on the kitchen table, Ryou took the chance to look around. He couldn't see much into the living room area but he could tell that the house was pretty quiet.

"Where's Yami and your grandfather?" he inquired.

"Oh, they gave us some private time," Yuugi said and winked at him. "I think Yami is with Jou and Grandpa probably went to the Kaiba Land, although I think he said he might stop to see your grandpa but enough about that."

Yuugi moved away from the table and grabbed Ryou's hand, leading him into the living room. "I want you to see this," he said with what sounded like pride to Ryou.

Curious, Ryou let Yuugi lead him. Since Yuugi's house wasn't that big, Ryou immediately saw what Yuugi had made for their occasion. Letting out a small gasp, Ryou's eyes began to tear up as he saw, on the small table in front of them, a platter of homemade crumpets and two azure teacups that were filled with what smelled like vanilla tea with honey. He was surprised that he didn't smell them when he had first walked in the door. The pale teenager could barely remember the last time he had even had crumpets, much less homemade.

Yuugi walked a bit ahead and picked one of the little cake up and turned back to face Ryou.

"It was a bit difficult to get them to taste good but I had helped from Yami. I actually think they turned out all right. But…." Yuugi trailed off and held out the crumpet to Ryou, gently placing it on his lips, "I think you're the best judge for that, right?"

Looking at the crumpet and then at Yuugi, Ryou opened his mouth and tasted the warm and savory cake. Yuugi did a great job even with Yami's help; he could at least remember crumpets tasting this way if not better. "Mmh, Yuugi…"

Yuugi smiled happily, clearly enjoying the satisfied look on Ryou's face.

Once Ryou had finished, he grabbed Yuugi's outstretched arm and pulled the petit male into a hug. "Thanks so much for this, Yuugi."

"It's nothing, really. I'm just glad you like it," Yuugi said, returning the hug.

"No, I mean it," Ryou said, wiping the liquid from his eyes. "I think this is one the nicest things someone has ever done for me." He pulled back slightly and kissed him on the cheek, his lips lingering a second longer on Yuugi's soft skin. "I'm really glad we're together."

Blushing slightly, Yuugi returned the gestured and squeezed Ryou slightly. "I'm glad too."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **I want to thank you guys so much for the reviews and for those that read this fic despite the long wait ^^U I'm happy that you guys wanted to see the end of it ^_^

Other than that maybe one day I'll write another heartshipping fic or at least a one shot to this fic...but that'll have to wait for awhile xD My goal is to finish the rest of the fics that I've started before I do anything new :P

And btw, omfr, has gotten a upgrade Owo! Jeebuz. Hello ffnet, meet 2012 xDDD.

That aside OMFR THANKS AGAIN! 8DDD *gives out hugs and cookies* ^_^


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